Vilyuchinsk Naval Base (Rybachy)

Vilyuchinsk, also known as the Rybachy naval base, is a Russian Navy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula, standing on Krasheninnikov Bay off Avacha Bay, some 20 km across the water from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka Krai. The base and its supporting town form a closed administrative territory under Kamchatka Krai jurisdiction.

The base is the main submarine facility of the Pacific Fleet on the Pacific side of Russian territory, hosting the 16th Submarine Squadron. A submarine squadron of the Pacific Fleet has been stationed at Rybachy continuously since August 1938. The installation supports nuclear-powered submarines, including ballistic missile boats assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

Shore facilities include berthing and support for nuclear submarines and a ship-repair capability, which began to develop at the site in late 1959; nuclear submarine construction and fitting-out work is also associated with the base. Support infrastructure for the garrison was rebuilt in the late 2000s, with new housing, a hospital, a nursery school and a sports complex opened in 2007.

The base originated in the settlements of Rybachy, Primorsky and Seldevaya, which supplied the Soviet Navy and served submarine construction. These were amalgamated on 16 October 1968 into the town of Sovetsky, renamed Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-50 in 1970 under the Soviet closed-town naming convention and Vilyuchinsk in 1994. Plans to close the base in 2003 for lack of funding were not carried out, and it has remained in operation.